Homotherium
H''omotherium'' (also known as the scimitar-toothed cat or scimitar cat)2 is an extinct genus of machairodontine Saber tooth cats,3 often termed scimitar-toothed cats, that inhabited North America, South America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs (4 mya – 12,000 years ago), existing for approximately 4 million years.14 It became extinct in Africa some 1.5 million years ago. The most recent Eurasian remains, recovered from what is now the North Sea, have been dated to around 28,000 years BP.5 In South America it is only known from a few remains in the northern region (Venezuela), from the mid-Pleistocene.6 Contents * 1Taxonomy and distribution * 2Description * 3Diet and habitats * 4See also * 5References * 6External links Taxonomy and distributionedit H. serum skull The name Homotherium (Greek: ὁμός (homos, 'same') and θηρίον (therion, 'beast')) was proposed by Emilio Fabrini (1890), without further explanation, for a new subgenus of Machairodus, whose main distinguishing feature was the presence of a large diastema between the two inferior premolars.78 The lineage of Homotherium is estimated (based on mitochondrial DNA sequences) to have diverged from that of Smilodon about 18 million years ago.9 Homotherium probably derived from Machairodus and appeared for the first time at the Miocene–Pliocene border, about 4 to 5 million years ago.10 During the Pleistocene it occurred in vast parts of Eurasia, North America and until the middle Pleistocene (about 1.5 million years ago) even in Africa. A fossil of H. crenatidens was inadvertently dredged from the bed of the North Sea, which was a flat, low-lying extent of marshy tundra laced with rivers during the last glacial period.11 There has also been a discovery of 1.8-million-year-old fossils in Venezuela,121314 indicating that scimitar-toothed cats were able to invade South America along with Smilodon during the Great American Interchange. These remains form the holotype of Homotherium venezuelensis.6 How long they lasted in South America is not yet evident. Homotherium survived in Eurasia until about 28,000 years ago.5 Several Eurasian species have been recognized based mainly on differences in the size and shape of the upper canines and body size: H. latidens, H. nestianus, H. sainzelli, H. crenatidens, H. nihowanensis, and H. ultimum. However, given the range of sizes found in extant large cats, it is likely that they represent a single species, Homotherium latidens.4 Two species described from early Pleistocene Africa, H. ethiopicum and H. hadarensis—''also hardly differ from the Eurasian forms.10 On the African continent the genus disappeared about 1.5 million years ago. In North America a very similar species, ''H. serum, occurred from the late Pliocene until the late Pleistocene. However, both morphological and genetic data suggest that all late Pleistocene Homotherium individuals worldwide should probably be regarded as members of H. latidens.9 Remains have been found at various sites between Alaska and Texas. In the southern parts of its range the American Homotherium co-existed with Smilodon; in the northern parts it was the only species of saber-toothed cat. The American Homotherium was originally described by the name Dinobastis. Despite Homotherium's vast range and the large quantity of fossil remains from Eurasia, Africa and North America, complete skeletons of this cat are relatively rare. One of the most famous sites of Homotherium remains is Friesenhahn cave in Texas, where 30 Homotherium skeletons were found, along with hundreds of juvenile mammoths and several dire wolves.15 The genus Dinobastis was originally named by Cope (1893). Its type is Dinobastis serus. It was synonymized subjectively with Smilodon by Matthew (1910) and later with Homotherium by Churcher (1966), Schultz et al. (1970), Waldrop (1974), Kurtén and Anderson (1980), Churcher (1984) and Dalquest fi and Carpenter (1988).161718 Screenshot 20190110 150220 video player by kingrexy dcwpa1k.jpg 20190109 202610 by kingrexy dcwn0zl.jpg 20181208 212314 by kingrexy dctxm36.jpg Category:Mammal Category:Cat Category:Sabre tooth Category:Pride Lands Category:Atlantean Category:Creatures Of Skull Island Category:Celtonion Category:Berk Category:Animals Category:Shere khan's army Category:Scar's army Category:Emperor Neceron's Army Category:Pellucidar Category:Caspak Category:White Island Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Underground World Category:Prehistoric Mammals Category:Atlantis Category:Prehistoric Park